Page 25 of Deal Breaker
Shaken back to the present, I shook my head and brought the rest of the room sharply back into focus.
We approached Sophie, Autumn, and Jodie.
As luck would have it, it looked like I was the one escorting her to her seat. My mouth broadened with a smile.
At the last minute, she stepped aside and took Trent’s arm, leaving me to walk Jodie or Autumn down the aisle. My sister graciously let Jodie take the privilege, waiting for Trent to get back.
My gaze bored into the back of Sophie as she and Trent walked down the aisle to the remaining seats. Whatever he said made her giggle, and she turned to look up at him with an adoring smile taking over her features.
What the fuck did he think he was doing?
So wrapped up in whatever was going on between the two of them, I almost crashed into the back of them and came to an abrupt stop.
“Thanks, Max.” Jodie stroked my arm. “Maybe we can get a drink later?”
“Sure, yeah, why not?” I nodded, my mouth answering without consulting my head.
Sophie let out another giggle as Trent stepped away from her. My eyes narrowed as she reached out and gripped his forearm, leaning in close and whispering something in his ear.
I swallowed down the jealousy threatening to rise in my chest and turned away. Before I said or did something that would make Joshua and Brianna’s wedding memorable for all the wrong reasons.
There was no chance to speak with Trent before the ceremony started, as we needed to get the remaining guests seated as quickly as possible. Joshua had raised his wrist and tapped his watch, indicating we needed to hurry up. When everyone was settled, we joined the wedding party at the front of the room.
The ceremony itself was exactly what I’d anticipated. Joshua and Brianna had written their own vows, so there were elements of humor to the occasion, as well as the heartfelt emotion I’d expected.
Every so often, my gaze would drift across the assembled guests, more often than not landing on Sophie. She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, laughing and crying at the appropriate times, Autumn and Jodie whispering to her.
I wished I’d been sitting next to her to pull her in close to me for comfort, to share those whispered remarks.
When we’d been snuggled together in bed last night, we seemed to fit, her body spooning into mine perfectly. I should have dealt with it differently this morning. I shouldn’t have pushed her away. The memory of our “second first kiss” fluttered into my head. I meant everything I’d said about taking her out. I’d known her long enough to know what she’d like to do on a date.
But Sophie wouldn’t look at someone like me. A fancy ass lawyer would be more her style, not a mere construction manager.
And she certainly wouldn’t look at me now, not after the way I’d treated her.
Once the ceremony was over, there was some down time before we had to form the receiving line to get everyone into the Lodge for the reception and dinner.
I took the opportunity to collar Trent and pulled him into an alcove, away from the main group.
“What were you saying to Sophie?” I hissed.
“What? When?” His brows knotted together.
“You walked her down the aisle, you were whispering in her ear. What were you talking about?”
Trent frowned. “Dunno what you mean.”
“It looked all very cozy, the two of you murmuring away to each other. Keep your hands off.”
Suddenly, it clicked, and Trent roared with laughter. “Oh, I get it, you’re jealous.”
My fists balled at my sides. Of course I was. I didn’t want to think of Sophie with anyone else, especially not Trent. Aside from Joshua, he was one of my best friends. And best friends didn’t do that to each other. We backed off. Stayed out of the running. Or at least they would if their friend had been honest about their feelings in the first place. Trent had no idea about my long-term crush on Sophie. Friends since college, he didn’t have a clue what had gone on in high school. He didn’t know about Sophie’s Friday night sleepovers with Autumn. And he certainly didn’t know what had happened last night.
Instead, I tried to balls it out.
“No, not at all.” I shook my head and forced a laugh. “Think you’d be a better match for Jodie, that’s all.”
We both looked over to where Sophie, Jodie, and Autumn stood waiting to join the receiving line. In my opinion, no one shone like Sophie. Her blonde radiance stood out next to Jodie’s dark beauty. Outside of Brianna—because no one outshone the bride on her wedding day—she was the most beautiful woman at the ceremony.
